


Parental Guidance Suggested

by lastoftheorder



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Babysitting, Character Growth, Childcare, Fluff, M/M, decent dad jack, jackothy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 15:03:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18719473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lastoftheorder/pseuds/lastoftheorder
Summary: While the light of his life, Angel is growing to be too much for Handsome Jack to handle, so he turns to one of his most trusted employees, himself (aka Timothy Lawrence)Fluff and shenanigans ensue as Timothy tries to take care of a young siren who is winning over his heart and he's forced to deal with her stubborn father who thinks he's the only one who knows what's best for his precious little girl.





	Parental Guidance Suggested

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DualDreamer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DualDreamer/gifts).



> This is an art exchange gift for the wonderful and spectacular DualDreamer, aka Yume. If you haven't had the chance to read her borderlands fics I HIGHLY encourage it. She's amazing. 
> 
> I had so much fun working on this prompt. I hope you like it, Yume!!!

Jack was a man of power; a man of action. He would bow to no man and would not be made to beg.

Yet here he was, pleading with his young daughter to please let him go to work. And, in turn, she was screaming at the top of her lungs, her small face twisting up and turning red. It was comparable to the tantrum she had last night, and the day before. Jack’s patience was wearing thin. He couldn’t keep doing this day after day, night after night. If it weren’t for the mask covering his face, his employees would see the dark circles under his eyes. 

His heart broke a little as he left the screaming, inconsolable four year old behind with the nanny bot. 

Jack sat through meetings at his desk, listening to the humble plea of his peons wihle he signed off on paperwork, trying desperately to stay awake and focused. He hoped something interesting would come his way soon, otherwise he may just have to airlock a few of his employees just to relieve the monotony. 

It was a little after lunch when he got his wish. 

Other Jack strolled into his office, covered in blood and grime. He tossed a machine part to Jack who examined it closely. Sure enough, it was exactly what he needed, and in perfect condition, no less. His double was a miracle worker.

“Here’s the reactor component you wanted. Anything else?” He asked.

Before Jack could answer, he heard an alarmed beeping from his echo. The nanny bot he had for Angel had been destroyed- by Angel. He couldn’t hold back a groan as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. That was the third one this week, and he really couldn’t afford to run back home this time; he had too many important meetings. 

His double coughed. Jack looked up at him, a plan forming in his mind and a smile curling at his lips. 

“Hey, Timmy,” Jack said. The double raised his eyebrow- Jack only used his real name when he really wanted something. The last time he used it was sending Tim out on a dangerous mission to defeat a giant, mutated Thresher. The time before that he had to sit in a 8 hour long budget meeting Jack didn’t want to go to. 

“Yes, sir?” 

“Call me Jack, kitten.”

“Yes, Jack?” 

“I’ve got a new mission for you. Go back to your room, get a quick shower, and I want you to meet me on floor 82 in, say, a half hour?” 

Tim nodded and wasted no time in hurrying out of the room. Jack sat back in his chair and put his feet up on his desk. Yes, this could work out quite well.   
*******************************************************

Tim met Jack at the 82 floor, and Jack handed him a stack of files.

“Alright, cupcake, here’s the deal; this is the most important Job you will ever get. Don’t mess this up.” 

“What am I doing, exactly?”

“You are going to babysit my daughter while I’m at work.”

Tim looked up in surprise. He hadn’t even known Jack had a daughter. 

“For how long?” he asked

“Till I can build a nanny bot that she can’t dismantle, or she grows out of this phase. You get paid, and I get to go to work without running back home every couple hours when she finds a way to destroy her old babysitter”

“Oh. Um, how old is she?” Tim asked.

“Everything you need to know about her is in the file.” 

“And she destroys robots?” Tim said. 

“Yeah, but why ask me when you can do your job and read the file.” Jack said, raising an eyebrow. Tim opened the paper file. It had been a while since he’d used anything other than echofile, but he figured that Jack’s daughter must be fairly ‘off the records’. 

Tim took another few moments to scan through the papers. She was four years old, her favorite color was blue, mildly allergic to avocados, and if anyone were to discover her existence they faced immediate termination via bullet. 

“You’re okay with me doing this, sir?” Tim said, thankful his mask hid the way his face paled. 

“Tim, I trust you more than I trust almost anyone else. Nisha would hate Angel, Wilhelm doesn’t have that special ‘human’ touch, plus I don’t trust Angel to not try to dismantle him. Besides, you look like me, and she’ll like that. Now, if you’re done being boring, let me introduce you two.” 

Tim closed the folder, knowing that Jack didn’t like waiting. Jack opened the door at the end of the hall and Timothy followed him inside. Inside was a small console room. Jack tapped a code into the command console and a hidden door slid open, revealing an elevator. Jack scanned his handprint in the pad on the side, typed in a password, and the doors slid shut. 

Timothy wanted to ask if all the security measures were necessary, but he knew what Jack would say. 

“It’s a good thing you have my handprint,” Jack said, “Otherwise the floor of the elevator will drop open and dump you into a grinder when you try to come here.” 

The elevator opened again, and Timothy got to see Jack’s penthouse.

It was huge and elegant. It was all open flooring, with half levels leading to different sections. There was a black leather couch next to a fireplace and an echo tv. A few steps, and the next level was a large kitchen with black stone countertops and gleaming chrome appliances. It was chic, modern, and quite classy. However, the illusion was quickly ruined when Timothy noticed the ‘nanny bot’ torn apart and scattered across the room with the couch. Jack didn’t bat an eyelash. 

“Where’s my little princess?” he called out. There was an excited shriek from somewhere beyond the kitchen, and a little girl came running. Jack leaned over and scooped up the running girl into his arms, plastering her with kisses on top of her head. 

“There’s my little Angel.” he said. Angel giggled and kissed him back. He tweaked her nose

“I thought I told you to stay out of trouble while I was gone. Why is the nanny bot destroyed?” 

Angel looked sheepish.

“I dunno.” 

“I thought I hid all of the screwdrivers. Did you find them, baby?” 

“I dunno.” she said, looking at her feet. Jack sighed. 

“That’s okay, Daddy’s got you a new babysitter,” he said. 

“No!” Angel screamed. 

“You’ll like this one, I promise.” Jack said. He turned around so Angel could get a good look at Timothy. She cocked her head, confusion filling her face. 

“You said you wanted Daddy to stay home with you, so here he is!” Jack said. Angel’s face scrunched up and she put her arms around Jack’s head, pouting. 

“I want you.” she said. 

“You’ll like Tim, Angel, I promise. You won’t even know the difference. The best part is that you can’t dismantle him cause he’s not a robot. Didn’t you want a new friend?” 

Angel began wailing. Jack sighed and put her down, letting her finish her tantrum on the ground. 

“Alright, Tim, let me give you the tour.” Jack said, “Till little miss thing over here can calm herself down.” Tim nodded and followed Jack through the house, as Jack pointed out the different rooms and their purposes. 

“Angel’s only allowed in the main rooms, the bathrooms, and her playroom.” Jack explained, “The rest of the rooms are off limits to her. As far as where you’re allowed to go, You stay out of my bedroom and my office, but everywhere else is fine. I expect every room to be clean when I get home, so if you cook something, you’d sure as hell better clean it up.” 

Tim only nodded, trying to absorb all this new information. 

“Now, anything else you need to know should be in the file, or you can call me. I’ll give you a day or two to settle in before I require that you follow the schedule.”Jack clapped his hands together,

“Well, that should just about do it. I want you to have that file memorized by the end of the week, and yes, there will be a test.” Jack walked briskly back to the front room, where Angel had stopped screaming but was pouting with her arms crossed. 

“Hey, Angel, Daddy has to go.” 

“No!” she screamed. Jack picked her up and hugged her close. 

“You’ll be in good hands, I promise, okay princess? Be good to Tim for me, and I’ll be home at seven. We can have spaghetti for dinner, and maybe Daddy will let you watch more echo net before bed.” 

“Don’t go!” Angel begged.

“Angel, Daddy has to go. But I’ll be back, just like I always am. Now, give Daddy a kiss to say goodbye?” Jack offered his cheek. Angel scrunched up her face, but leaned forward and smacked his cheek with her lips. Jack beamed at her and let her down. 

“G’bye Honey!” he said, getting back into the elevator, “Toodles, Tim.” And with that, Jack was gone. 

Tim cleared his throat.

“So, uh, Angel. Hi, I’m-” he didn’t get the chance to finish.

“I hate you!” she screamed, her face turning red, “I hate you I hate you I hate you!” 

Tim sighed. Of course she’d have a temper; she was Jack’s daughter, after all. But Tim had an advantage he was certain Jack didn’t; Tim grew up with two younger sisters. Tim ignored the screaming and sat down on the couch, keeping her within his line of sight. She’d tire herself out, eventually. Tim settled down and opened up the file, reading. 

Five minutes later, Angel had quieted. Another five minutes, and she sat down on the other side of the couch, staring at her hands. 

“You ready to talk to me?” Tim asked. 

“I hate you.” she said, but she didn’t have the anger she had before. 

“Do you hate me, or do you miss your dad?” he said. Angel was quiet, so Tim continued, “It’s hard to have dads go to work, isn’t it?”

Angel nodded. Tim knew he was making progress. 

“Hey, how about I get you snack and some juice? Would you like that, Angel?” 

“Ya,” she said. She slid off the couch and Tim followed her to the kitchen. He went to the pantry and grabbed her fruit snacks and some crackers, as well as a small juice pack. Angel munched on her snacks and then proceeded to ignore Timothy. He quietly cleaned up after her and followed her to her playroom. 

The room was light pink with a wall of shelves where Angel’s toys were kept in plastic bins. She pulled one from the lower shelves out and dumped it on the floor, sifting through them until finally selecting a few. She moved them in her hands, making snippets of conversations as she played pretend. Tim sat down at the other end of the room and continued with his reading. He had finally gotten to the daily schedule. He was to arrive at 8 am and stay until 7 pm. There were guided lessons and activities throughout the day, as well as nap and snack breaks. Jack included instructions as to what Tim was supposed to do at each of these times, like cleaning up the house during naptime. Thankfully, Tim wasn’t expected to cook meals, as Jack would have those prepared for Angel. 

There were explicit instructions for Tim as well, saying that he wasn’t allowed to stray from his diet even if Angel was eating it. Tim rolled his eyes; Jack never changed. This included the continuation of the schedule for when Tim left, detailing the time Tim needed to spend at the gym and what time he should go to bed. 

Tim was so lost in his thoughts he barely noticed when Angel made a distressed noise and tossed something at his head. It hit with a dull thunk and Tim rubbed at the sore spot. 

“What the hell?” he demanded. He looked down at the offending object and saw that it was a Handsome Jack plastic figuring. Angel began another temper tantrum, screaming and kicking on the floor. Tim ignored her outburst and turned the toy over in his hand. Why had this set her off? He pulled out his echo com and made a note to research tantrum triggers when he got home, and he patiently waited for Angel to burn herself out. She finally quieted and had fallen asleep. Tim picked up her sleeping body and carried her to her bedroom, tucking her into the sheets. 

“I’ll get you to like me,” he said to her quietly, “It make take time, but I think you’ll warm up to me.” he knew she couldn’t hear him, but he wanted to say it anyway. He brushed away some of the hair from her face and smiled. She made him feel more like himself, more like Tim. Despite her outburst and tantrums, he knew he was going to enjoy this job.   
****************************************************************************************

Angel was ignoring Tim when Jack got home, as children do after tantrums. She was still excited to see her father when he got home, and Jack quickly dismissed the double. 

Tim elected to ignore his workout regime and instead researched what he could about four year old’s behavior and the source of tantrums. It was very late by the time he finally went to sleep, a tentative plan in his head to connect with the young girl. 

He got back to Jack’s penthouse the next day and was met right off the bat with another tantrum. Jack sighed and kissed the girl farewell, ignoring her screams. He offered to kiss Tim as well, but Tim glared at his boss to ward off the advances. 

Once Angel had quit screaming, Tim knelt beside her so he was down to her level. 

“You feel better now?” he asked. She huffed and crossed her arms, trying to ignore him. 

“Did it fix the problem?” She turned her face away from him. 

“You know, Angel, I wanna be your friend. And friends talk about what's bothering them. If I knew what was wrong, I could help fix it, just like friends should.” 

Angel relaxed her stance and looked down at her feet, picking at the velcro of her shoes. 

“I miss daddy,” she said after a moment of silence. 

“Yeah? You miss him?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s normal to miss daddy, but if he didn’t go away for a bit, I wouldn’t be able to come and play with you,” Tim said. 

“You’ll play with me?” 

“‘Course Angel,” Tim beamed at her, “I didn’t get much of a chance yesterday, but I can today. What do you want to play?”

Angel perked up.

“You wanna play tea party?” she asked. Tim nodded, getting back onto his feet. 

“Course. You lead the way, my fair Angel,” he said. She took his hand and led him off. Yeah, today was going to go a lot better. 

*******************************************************************************

In the weeks that followed, Tim and Angel became fast friends. She began looking forward to him coming over every day, much to Jack’s relief. She no longer threw a tantrum every time her father left her, much to everyone’s relief. 

They fell into a pattern. Jack would wake Angel up in the morning, get her dressed, and then make breakfast. Tim would come around eight, and Jack would leave. Tim let Angel play for a bit, ran her through some lessons, watched an echovid episode or two with her (his favorites involved cats). He would then prepare lunch, which Jack usually had ready in the freezer for him to heat up in the microwave. Today was baked ziti, and Tim couldn’t help but steal a noodle for himself since Jack certainly wouldn’t be able to tell if he cheated on his diet. 

 

After that, Angel went down for a nap while Tim would research child development. This was perhaps the only time Angel would leave him alone without throwing a tantrum. Her behavior concerned him, and, as he skimmed through articles, he was starting to understand why. 

Jack didn’t trust many people to know about his little girl, in fact, Tim could count on one hand those who knew. It was him, Wilhelm, Nisha, and Jack. Before Tim was watching her, she only had robots and Jack. She was being isolated, and they were the only world she knew. 

Tim had to find a way to socialize Angel to other children her age, or at least other humans beyond that small list (And did Wilhelm really count as human anymore?) The tricky part would be broaching the subject with his boss, as Jack would likely get angry. Tim sighed; he had no idea what he was going to do. 

*****************************************************************************************  
Jack had made pancakes that morning for his special girl. She kept asking for more syrup even though Jack knew she already had more than enough covering her pancakes already, and he didn’t want to add more to that mess. He decided instead to distract her. 

“So, pumpkin, what are you and Tim going to do today?” he asked

“We’re gonna play zoo today.” she said, “Zoo, zoo zoo!” she started clapping her hands. 

“Yeah, honey? That sounds fun. What’s your favorite animal?” 

“Skag! Grawr!” Angel bared her teeth and mimicked the terrifying creature. Jack pretended to pull out a pistol with his fingers.

“Oh, no, there’s a skag loose in our home!” Jack ignored their breakfast and dove around a corner. Angel followed suit and began running after her dad, who yelled as he kept out of the young girl’s reach. 

The elevator doors slid open as Timothy arrived. 

“Run, Tim!” Jack yelled. Timothy’s eyes narrowed as he tried to identify the threat. 

“Grawr!” Angel cried out, suddenly changing targets from her father to Timothy. Tim yelped and dodged out of the way, leaping over the couch and sprinted through the kitchen. 

“We’ve got a wild skag here, Tim!” Jack said as his double caught up to him. 

“Yeah. How are we going to take it down?” Tim asked. 

“I dunno. You have any bright ideas, cupcake?” Jack asked. 

“We need a new elemental weapon,” Tim said. Jack raised his eyebrows. 

“Come again?” he asked. Tim nodded solemnly.

“I know Hyperion’s been working on new tickle tech. I think we’ll be able to take down the skag that way.”

“How’d you know about tickle tech? That’s top secret stuff, Tim.” Jack said, narrowing his eyes, while also narrowly avoiding Angel’s outstretched claws. 

“Let’s just say I got a trustworthy face,” Tim said with a wink. They stopped behind the kitchen counter, watching as Angel attacked a throw pillow. 

“I say we corner her to take her out,” Jack said. 

“Sounds like a plan. Let’s corner her by the couch. I’ll pin her, and you deliver the killing blow.” Tim said. Jack gave a nod in agreement and the two split up, converging on the young skag. 

Angel, however, was not conducive to the plan. She lunged at Jack, tackling his knees. Jack carefully collapsed to the ground as the skag jumped on his torso. 

“No! Tim, Tim, she’s got me!” Jack cried, “Avenge me, Tim!” Jack closed his eyes and fell still, and Angel turned her sights on Timothy. He yelped and ran away from her, eventually shaking her off as she got distracted by yet another pillow. Tim knelt beside Jack. 

“Nooooo! He’s gone! Taken by a vicious skag! He was so young!” Tim let out a mock wail. He could hear Angel giggling, taken in by his performance. 

Jack’s eyes suddenly snapped open. 

“It was a wereskag,” He roared, lunging on top of Tim and pinning the double down beneath him. Jack looked to Angel.

“Get him, sweetie,” he said. Angel paused, her eyes going wide. 

“I need to pee!” she declared, “Don’t let him go.” She tottered away. Jack looked down at his prey. 

Tim squirmed beneath him, and Jack tightened his grip, growling low. Both of their hearts were beating fast as they stared at each other, their bodies warm as they pressed together. 

Jack’s eyes trailed over Tim leisurely, studying him in an almost breathless way. Tim flushed at the gaze and hurried to change the developing mood. 

“Wereskag, huh?” he said. Jack gave a wry smile and growled. 

“Yeah, a hungry one, too,” he leaned forward and put his mouth against Tim’s neck, nipping at the skin. Electricity ran through Tim as he craned his neck to the touch, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. Jack continued his ministrations, trailing his tongue up to Tim’s jawline where he began giving suckling kisses. Tim let out a quiet moan as Jack put a hand in his double’s hair, tugging on it to get better access to the rest of his neck. Tim closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation. Jack’s breath was hot and wet against his neck, and Tim was certain Jack could hear his rapid heartbeat. 

Jack was growing bolder, his mouth teasing at the corners of Tim’s mouth. Tim was almost certain Jack was about to devour said mouth in his when the sound of flushing and a door opening made him snap back up as if nothing had happened. 

“The hell, Jack.” Tim breathed. 

Angel ran and lunged on Tim’s face, wrapping her still-wet hands over him and covering his face with sloppy kisses. 

“You got me, Angel.” Tim said, smiling weakly, “Do I turn into a skag now?” 

“Yeah,” she said, collapsing her weight on him. Jack stood up. 

“Well, as fun as this was, I need to go to work. Don’t kill Tim today, kay kitten?” Jack laughed and stretched his back, “Oh, and Tim, you’re in charge of dishes today. I didn’t have time to get to them.” 

Tim set his jaw. 

“Yes, sir,” he said. Jack let out a barking laugh and left through the elevator doors, leaving Tim reeling.

************************************************************************************

A few days later, Jack came home early from work to see Angel clinging tightly to Tim as they were reading a book together on the couch. 

“Go on, go get daddy!” Tim said, looking up to see Jack. Angel gave Tim a hug and hopped off of the couch and ran to her father, who scooped her up and nuzzled her. Timothy put the book down on the coffee table and grabbed his bag. 

“You going somewhere, princess?” Jack asked, looking up from stroking Angel’s hair. 

“You’re here; I assumed I was done,” Tim said. 

“You assumed wrong, kiddo. Put the bag down and stay awhile; you’re on the clock till I say you’re done.” 

Rather than argue with Jack, Tim sighed and put his bag down again. He watched with amusement as Jack kissed every inch of his daughter he could reach, causing the girl to shriek and squirm. He had to be honest with himself; he loved seeing this part. Jack was no longer some abstract, terrifying entity. He was a dad. 

Finally, Jack put Angel down. 

“Timmy’s gonna stay with us?” she asked. 

“Yup,” Jack said. Angel clapped her hands and ran to Tim, wrapping herself around his leg. 

“We’re gonna have a sleepover!” she cried happily. 

“Um-” Tim began. He wasn’t sure if a sleepover was the best idea. Jack chuckled. 

“Maybe not a sleepover, pumpkin, but he can stay till bedtime.” 

“Can we pretend it’s a sleepover?” Angel asked. 

“Sure, sweetheart. Go put on your PJ’s, and I’ll order us some pizza” 

“You guys gotta wear PJ’s too!” Angel said. 

“Maybe in a bit, honey. But first, If I don’t see you in pajamas in the next minute I’m going to tickle you ‘till you pee,” Jack warned. Angel shrieked again and ran off to her room. 

“What brought this on?” Tim asked. 

“What brought what on?” Jack asked, pulling out his echo com to place the pizza order.

“Coming home early, ordering pizza, keeping me here?” Tim offered. Jack shrugged. 

“What can I say? I’m in a good mood. Hey, is pepperoni okay with you, Timmy?” 

“Uh, sure- wait, I get to eat some too?” he asked. 

“You better,” Jack growled, “Or Angel and I will get fat. Besides, you’ve been a good boy for me. I want you to have fun with us.” 

“Wow, uh, thanks, Jack.” 

“No problem, babe.” Jack sent out the order and slipped his echo back into his pocket. Tim felt his face grow hot. Thankfully, before Tim had to come to terms with his complex emotions Angel came running back in her pajamas and threw herself into Timothy’s arms. 

“Timmy Timmy Timmy, look at my flower,” she pointed to the flower pattern on her chest. 

“Yeah, Angel, it looks really cute. You got some adorable pajamas there.” 

“You want a pair, Timmy?” Jack asked. Tim let Angel slip from his arms. 

“I’m good,” he said. 

“They probably don’t make your size anyways. Think you could watch Angel for a sec while I change?” 

“Of course,” Tim said. Jack walked off and Tim spent the time teaching Angel how to waltz (she stood on his toes to do it). 

Jack strolled out a few minutes later wearing a yellow t-shirt and baggy sweatpants. He caught Tim’s eye and jerked a thumb back at his room. 

“I laid out your clothes for you. Go get changed.” 

Tim was hesitant to go into Jack’s room, knowing that it was off limits to both him and Angel most of the time. However, knowing what wrath may befall him if he delayed too long, he went inside. 

Jack had a surprisingly modest room. It was rather minimalist, with a bed, dresser, and a nightstand being the only furnishing. That being said, the bed was huge and extravagant, and the sheets on it alone must have cost more than Timothy’s entire college tuition. Laid out neatly on the bed was a white t-shirt and a pair of flannel pajama pants. 

Tim was about to peel off his own shirt when he caught sight of the giant Jack portrait on top of the dresser, its eyes boring down on him. 

“No way,” he said, shaking his head. He carefully covered it up with his jacket before changing clothes. He wondered belatedly if these were Jack’s as he folded up his regular clothes and left the room. 

“Hey, Tim, just in time! Pizza’s here!” Jack held up a slice. The smell of garlic and grease wafted towards Tim’s nose and filled him with its sent. His mouth watered. He went over and grabbed one, pausing for a moment to ruffle Angel’s hair as she shoved a slice into her mouth. 

Tim ate one, and Jack put another one in his hand. 

“C’mon, it’s not a party until you’ve had at least three!” Jack said. Tim was taken aback. 

“But I have photo shoots, and-” Tim began. Jack took a step towards him. 

“Not tonight, you don’t,” he said. Tim’s head was spinning, trying to figure out Jack’s game here. Letting him break diet? Keeping him here through the evening? Having an impromptu party? Tim had a hard time believing this was all just coincidence. 

However, he wasn’t one to let an opportunity slip through his fingers. After all, he had jumped at the chance to have the Hyperion corporation pay off his college debt, even if it had ended pretty badly for him. If Jack was in such a good mood, now might be the time for Tim to bring up the issue of Angel needing friends. He had to play his hand carefully, though, if he wanted to keep Jack in a good mood. 

Angel dropped the crust of her pizza and announced that she was finished. 

“Then what is this, sweetheart?” Jack asked, picking up the crust. 

“I ate the pizza part,” she said. 

“This is part of the pizza, too,” Jack said, “Timmy, back me up.” 

“The crust is pizza too. I ate mine,” Tim said. Angel grumbled and grabbed the crust from Jack’s outstretched hand and nibbled on it with a sour expression. Jack ruffled her hair. 

“That’s my girl. Now, once we’re done with dinner, what would you like to do? We can watch an echo show, or play a game?” Jack asked. 

“Hide and seek!” Angel declared. 

“Hide and seek it is, pumpkin,” Jack said, “Who’s going to count first.” 

“You!” she grinned. He tweaked her nose. 

“Alright, you and Tim better hide fast- I’m only counting to 30!” he said, covering his eyes and began to count. Angel shrieked and scampered off, Tim following in suit. Tim ran to the bathroom as quickly and as quietly as possible and hid himself behind the shower curtain, keeping his breathing as steady as possible so that it wouldn’t betray his location. He listened closely as Jack’s heavy footsteps walked by. He waited a bit longer and heard the telltale shrieks of Angel being found. 

A minute later and Angel was tearing away the shower curtain excitedly. 

“See, I told you I saw him go in here!” she said. Jack chuckled. 

“Cheater,” Tim said, narrowing his eyes. Angel gave a sheepish giggle. 

“Alright, Angel, it’s your turn to count since you were found first. Go to the kitchen and count to thirty,” Jack patted her shoulder. 

“I know how to count to a hundred!” she said proudly. 

“Yeah, but we only need thirty.” 

She covered her eyes and began counting. Jack and Tim both ran in different directions. Tim found a closet and stepped inside, pushing away the jackets and coats to make room for himself. 

The door suddenly swung open and Jack stepped inside. 

“Hey, I’m hiding here already,” Tim hissed. 

“My house, cupcake. I can hide wherever I want.” Jack said.

“Fine!” Tim raised his arms in defeat and prepared to storm out of the closet and find another hiding spot when Jack grabbed the doorknob and shut it. 

“I didn’t say you had to leave, princess.” 

“Jack-” Tim said, and suddenly Jack was pressing up against him, pinning Tim to the wall and running his hands over Tim’s chest, his mouth grazing over Tim’s throat. Timothy’s breath caught in his throat and he stifled back a moan. Jack’s fingers carefully pulled up the edges of Tim’s Hyperion sweater, his fingers gently exploring the defined abs of his stomach. Timothy closed his eyes and knocked back his head, enjoying the sensation.

Then, as suddenly as he was there, Jack pulled away and took a step back.

“You know what, you’re right; I should find another hiding spot,” he said, opening the door and leaving. 

Once more Tim was the last to be found, gazing absentmindedly at the wall. 

“I found you!” Angel said. 

“Yeah, you did,” Tim said, snapping out of his daze. He ignored Jack’s low chuckle. 

“I think Timmy’s done playing Hide and seek for now,” Jack said. Angel pouted, but kept her temper in check. 

The rest of the night went smoothly. Jack turned on an echovid and Angel sat between the two of them, cuddling up to Tim while Jack would tickle her toes periodically. Angel fell asleep halfway through and Jack readjusted her to be laying on him. After the movie finished, Jack carried her into her bed and tucked her in, kissing the top of her forehead. As evil as Jack could be, seeing him interact with his daughter warmed Tim’s heart. 

“Let me help you clean up,” Tim insisted once they had closed Angel’s bedroom door, looking at the paper plates and pizza box. Jack shrugged. 

“Sure, pumpkin. Can’t get enough of Ol’ Jack, huh?” 

“Course not,” Tim winked. He knew he had to make his move soon, or his window of opportunity would close. He cleared his throat and steeled himself. 

“So, Jack, I’ve actually been wanting to talk to you about something for a while-” Tim was hesitant. He could be stepping into very dangerous waters here. 

“Yes, kiddo?” Jack said.

“Angel doesn’t have any friends, her age, I mean. When I first came here, she showed signs of loneliness, and I suspect her acting out was a response to not having a lot of human interaction. It would be better for her to have other kids to play with some time,” Tim pulled up his echo, “I did a lot of research on this, and I can send you articles. I just want what’s best for her.” 

“You think you know what’s best for her?” Jack asked, his voice turning low and dangerous. Tim knew he had to backpedal fast, but he was still determined to get through Jack’s thick head. 

“No, but I can make informed decisions,” Tim said, “You hired me for this job; I’m going to do the best that I can.” 

“No one else can know Angel exists, Tim.” 

“Can’t we do something for her?” Tim asked. 

“No!” Jack shouted, “I don’t care how many articles or scientists say she needs it, I’m not putting her at risk.” 

Tim knew better than to push Jack’s anger further. He nodded respectfully and grabbed his bag. 

“Of course, Jack,” Tim said. Except Jack was already angry and wasn’t about to back down. 

“You’re so ungrateful, you know that, Tim? I keep you safe up here in Helios and trust you with my daughter, and here you are talking back to me, telling me what I should do with my daughter!” 

“It’s fine, Jack, really, it was just a suggestion!” Tim raised his arms and took a step back defensively, regretting that he had brought it up. 

“She doesn’t need anyone else!” Jack roared. 

“Of course, Jack,” Tim repeated, “Of course.” Jack took a step closer. 

“Do you think you’re indispensable? That she needs you, too? Cause she doesn’t.” Jack said, “You’re a babysitter, a nanny. You’re not her parent.” 

“I’m not, Jack, I’m just a babysitter. No more valuable than one of your nanny-bots,” Tim said. Jack took another step closer. 

“Damn right, Not Me,” Jack said. 

“Yup,” Tim said. He hoisted his bag again, unsure of what to do. 

“You’re free to go,” Jack said, eyeing Timothy. The body double nodded and hurried off without a moment's hesitation. 

*******************************************************************

Timothy tossed and turned the whole night, the stress from the situation with Jack getting to him. He wanted to help Angel, but Jack wouldn’t let him. Angel deserved so much more- so much better. 

When Timothy woke up the next morning, the other shoe had dropped. There was a message on his echo from Jack. 

“So, Other Jack, I’ve decided to make a few changes to our little routine here.” 

Tim swallowed. Whatever was coming wasn’t going to be good. 

“I don’t need you here anymore. Angel and I are both fine without you, so I’m sending you down to Pandora to take care of a few things for me. Think you can do that, kitten? Caoi.” 

Timothy rubbed his eyes and flipped through his echo. Sure enough, he had a pass to the next shuttle to Pandora which would be leaving in only a half an hour. Angel wouldn’t even be awake by then- Jack wasn’t letting him say goodbye to her.

It made his heart ache, but he didn’t have much of a choice. He only hoped Angel would be okay without him. 

*********************************************************

Tim caught the next shuttle to Opportunity, since his clearance for using Jack’s fast travel systems had been deactivated for him. He didn’t understand why asking to give Angel friends would be such a sore spot for Jack. He had thought, at worst Jack would shut him down hard. He didn’t think he would be ostracized like this; abandoned, tossed aside. If he had known, he never would have brought it up. 

Or maybe he would have. Maybe he would have just changed his tactics, maybe try to get Jack drunk and seduce him. Jack always seemed more relaxed and open after Nisha visited, and Jack had shown interest in Tim (if his actions the past few days were any indication). 

No, Tim had to shut down those thoughts hard. He was just a plaything for Jack, a toy to be used. Jack probably just got his kicks through Tim’s discomfort. 

Tim glanced down at his echo. It was about that time on Helios when Tim would come over to take care of Angel. He wondered how the young girl would be taking his absence. Would she throw a tantrum? It would serve Jack right for making hasty decisions. Or maybe she would be broken-hearted, wondering why Tim had left her. That thought sobered Tim, making the pain in his heart stab in deeper. He hadn’t even gotten the chance to say goodbye. 

His echo rang, which pulled him from his depressing thoughts. 

“Jack?” he answered. 

“How do I make her stop?” Jack demanded, the sounds of Angel screaming in the background. 

“Have you asked her why she’s upset?” Tim asked. 

“She’s a child- they get upset if there’s too much milk in their cereal! Just tell me what to do to calm her down.” 

Tim took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to say. 

“Hurry up, dum-dum I gotta go to work!” Jack said. 

“Just talk to her, ask her to tell you about what she’s feeling,”

“I don’t have time for this crap,” Jack grumbled. Timothy felt anger well up inside of him.

“This ‘crap’ is your daughter, Jack!” 

Jack suddenly fell into a dangerous silence. Once more, Timothy had crossed a line. Well, there was no going back now, he might as well give Jack hell. 

“She’s lonely and isolated because of you, and you just removed the one other person in her life and put her back into an isolated hell. No wonder she’s upset Jack; you’re a shitty parent who’s ruined her life! She’s messed up because of you!” 

“How dare you say I don’t care about my little girl!” Jack shouted, “Do you even know what it’s like to be a parent? It’s not been easy ever since she killed her freaking mom. If anything messed her up it was that” 

 

“I’m the only other person in her life besides you! Keeping her isolated is what’s messing her up! And you didn’t even let me say goodbye to her! And now you don’t care enough to give her the time she needs to talk through her issues. You play the part, Jack, but do you even really care about her?”  
“Of course I care about my little girl!” 

“ But you’re only there for when things are fun, but at the end of the day you care more about pride than you do about your little girl!”

“You’re the one who has a pride issue, coming in and messing up our lives, I have half a mind to-”

Jack was cut off by the sound of a loud scream coming from Angel. Timothy’s echo fritzed, and electricity coursed through the device. He dropped it with a shout as blue charges came out of it, zapping the ground of the shuttle. The whole thing shuddered. Alarms began blaring and lights began flashing. Then, as suddenly as they had begun, they stopped. 

“T-tim?” Angel’s shy voice filled the shuttle. Tim looked around wildly, trying to find Angel, but he realized her voice was coming through the speakers. That should have been impossible, shouldn’t it? 

“Tim, you should come home.” Angel said, “And please stop fighting with Daddy. I don’t like you too yelling at each other.”

“Is Jack okay with me coming home?” Tim asked quietly. There was silence for a few moments, and Tim began twiddling his thumbs. Finally, Angel’s voice crackled back on. 

“He says it’s okay.” she said, “So will you come home?” 

“Yeah.”

“Okay, I’m rewriting your course back to home now!” . 

****************************************************************************************************  
As Timothy docked back into Helios he belatedly wondered if this was all some sort of elaborate trap to get him back to Helios so Jack could torture him properly rather than letting him die in a fiery explosion. 

He was especially nervous as a group of loaderbots was sent to escort him to Jack’s penthouse. He swallowed thickly as he scanned in his hand, and the elevator doors opened for him. 

The elevator rose, and every shudder and vibration made Timothy fear the floor would drop out beneath him and grind him up. He held his breath till the elevator came to a stop, and the doors opened into Jack’s penthouse. He breathed a sigh of relief as he strode in. 

Jack was sprawled out on the couch, his eyes rimmed red. 

“Finally!” he said, standing to his feet, “Angel, sweetheart, see, Timmy’s okay?” Jack ran his hands through his hair. Angel crawled out from behind the couch, her arm glowing with strange patterns. Tim furrowed his brow. 

“Angel, what happened?” he asked. Angel gave a shrug, and Jack let out a small laugh. 

“Oh, yeah, that? Well, it’s a long story. Turns out my baby girl’s collar doesn’t contain her powers very well when she’s really upset, and it snapped off while you were gone.” Jack was tugging at his collar nervously. Tim’s eyes widened; Jack was scared! Tim’s eyes flitted back to Angel and looked at her strange markings. Could she really be dangerous enough without her collar to make Handsome Jack scared?

“But now you’re here, cupcake, and Angel knows you’re safe. Now let’s hug each other and show her we’re not fighting anymore.” Jack held out his arms awkwardly, and Tim shuffled in for a very uncomfortable hug. Jack squeezed him a bit tighter then he should. 

Jack pulled away first. 

“See, kitten, we’re good. You don’t have to keep daddy locked in here anymore. Timmy’s gonna watch you, and daddy’s gonna go run his company for a bit, okay? And get you a new collar so you don’t blow up our kitchen by accident.” 

Jack hurried out of the room, leaving Timothy with a free siren. He smiled at her, and she suddenly ran to him and threw herself into his arms. 

“I was scared for you Timmy,” She said, breaking into a soft sob, pressing her face against his shirt. “Daddy was mad at you and when he's really mad like that he’ll say he’s gonna kill people and I was so scared that he was going to kill you so I took over your ship and locked him in here till you came safely home” 

Timothy had to hold back a chuckle at the idea of Angel keeping her father hostage. Instead, he gently patted her head and shushed her. 

“Hey, Angel, it’s okay.” he said, “Besides, your dad could never kill me; I’m too handsome.” and she took a gasp of air and clung to his shirt like a lifeline. 

“I can’t lose you.” Angel said after a moment, her voice softer and less panicked, “I love you, Timmy.” 

Timothy wrapped her into a fierce hug. 

“I love you too, Angel,” 

*******************************************************************************************************  
Jack came back much more calm and collected than how he had left. Timothy raised an eyebrow as Jack came striding back in. 

“Angel’s already in bed,” Timothy said. 

“Good.” Jack said with a sigh, slumping down on the couch, “Y’know, when Angel screamed, I saw my life flash before my eyes. I thought she was going to make my brain explode or something.” Jack gestured for Tim to sit down next to him. He did so nervously, chewing his bottom lip. 

“I’m not going to kill you if that’s what you’re wondering; Angel’s too damn attached to you,” Jack said, and Timothy breathed a sigh of relief. With that out of the way, he gathered up his nerves again. 

“Are we going to talk about what happened?” 

“Geez, kid, when did you become so flippant?” 

“When I became you.” 

Jack snorted, clearly pleased by that answer.

“So, what exactly do you want to talk about, kiddo? You know I’m not going to kill you.” 

Timothy recognized this tactic. Whenever one of his little sisters was mad, she would simply avoid the topic or pretend they had already talked about it, like that would suddenly make the issue go away. For Handsome Jack, he usually made the issue go away via an airlock. Yet here Jack was, faced with a real argument he couldn’t just hide from, and he was still trying to avoid it. 

“We need to talk about Angel,” Timothy said sternly, “And you.” 

“Hey, I’m already busting balls down in R&D to make her a new collar. Don’t worry about it kiddo, your babysitting job isn’t going to get you killed.”

“You know that’s not what I mean,” Timothy said. Jack sighed. 

“Go ahead, kiddo. Make your peace; I won’t interrupt you. Even if what you say is incredibly stupid.” 

“I meant what I said back there in the shuttle. Angel needs more than what you can give. You’re a single parent, Jack, and you’ve been doing it all on your own until I came along, but she needs more. She needs friends, and playmates to socialize with. She needs more adults she can look up to. And above all else, she needs more than just a babysitter, Jack. She needs a parent. You’re the only one she’s got, Jack, and you’re here when it’s fun, but when it comes to actual parenting, you check out. You’re not there for her tantrums, you don’t listen to her, and you abandon her. Hell, Jack, you gave her nanny-bots. That’s not a substitute for a parent, much less an actual person.”

“I gave her you.” Jack said quietly. Timothy paused for a moment, taken aback. He blinked at those words, then offered a small smile.

“I’m not going to be enough.” 

“Maybe you’re right.” Jack said, “But I don’t know what else to do; She’s a siren, and she’s my daughter. She’s not safe, Tim. I already lost her mother, I can’t risk losing her as well.” Jack’s voice cracked a little as he spoke, and Tim put a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

“You’re Handsome Freaking Jack; you’ll figure something out.”

Jack laughed. 

“You’re damn right, kiddo.” he said, “But so are you; you got any bright ideas?” 

Tim ran his tongue over his teeth in thought. 

“How is the pocket double program coming along?” he asked. 

“It’s going fantastic sweetheart, but how does this help us?” 

“Could they be engineered to mask a Jack? Or maybe hide certain tattoos when a little girl goes out in public to play with friends?” 

Jack nodded his head thoughtfully. 

“Y’know, that could actually work. I’d still need to work out kinks to guarantee her safety, but it’s a start. Damn, I knew I hired you for more than your good looks, sexy.” 

“Speaking of that, Jack,” Timothy said with a blush, “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about...the flirting.” 

Jack raised an eyebrow. 

“The flirting?” he asked. 

“Yeah, like...in the closet during hide and seek, and the wereskag game…” Tim said. 

Jack suddenly invaded Timothy’s space, moving close to him so that their faces were almost touching.

“You mean like this?” Jack purred. 

“Uh, yeah,” Tim said. 

“Oh, kitten, this is a lot more than just flirting.” his mouth ghosted over Timothy’s neck as a tentative hand moved up Tim’s abdomen. Seeing that it wasn’t being pushed away, the hand wrapped around Timothy’s back and pulled him towards Jack. 

“Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do this?” Jack asked, his mouth suddenly brushing into Tim’s jawline. 

“Narcissistic...bastard.” Timothy moaned as Jack positioned himself on top of Tim, grinding down into him. 

“Don’t act like you don’t love it,” Jack said, nipping into the flesh of Tim’s neck, causing the body double to yelp.

They were interrupted by the sound of a door opening. Jack shot up to see. 

“Hey princess,” he said, “Did I wake you?” Timothy was suddenly VERY grateful the back of the couch blocked the view to Angel’s room. He didn’t know what he would do if she caught them doing...this. 

Angel blearily rubbed her eyes. 

“Want water,” she mumbled. Jack stood up. 

“I’ll get that for you, kitten,” he said, and Timothy finally got the chance to sit up. Angel’s eyes widened. 

“You- you aren’t hurting Timmy, are you?” she asked, her small voice filled with concern. Jack chuckled as he filled her a glass. 

“Nope. You could say we’ve kissed and made up.” he said, “Oh, and Timmy’s gonna stay the night, so you can see that he’s safe and sound in the morning.” 

Timothy’s eyebrows shot up, and Jack gave him a lecherous wink as he handed the glass to a smiling Angel. 

“Okay. G’night daddy.” She hugged her dad’s legs as he patted her head. When she left to return to her room, Jack turned back to Timothy. 

“Alright, where were we?” 

“Seriously, Jack?” Tim hissed, “We could have gotten caught.” 

“Hm. You’re right. Let’s move this to the bedroom; I’ve got a lock on the door. Now, tell me, Princess, how would you like to be carried there?” 

 

******************************************************************************************************

“Did one of you have a bad dream last night?” Angel asked that morning at breakfast, “I heard screaming.” 

Tim choked on his coffee. Jack took it in stride, sipping from his mug as he flipped through his echo. 

“Yup. Old Timmers here has regular nightmares,” Jack said coolly. 

“Awwww,” Angel stared up at Timothy with pitying eyes, reaching out a hand to touch him comfortingly on the leg.

“Yup, that’s me. Nightmares, all the time,” He said through sputtering coughs. Angel’s eyes went wide.

“Stay right here!” She insisted, scooting out of her chair and running off. Tim shot Jack a look, who dutifully ignored him. Angel came running back with a bunny stuffed animal and handed it to Tim. 

“This is Piskin. He will protect you from nightmares,” she said solemnly. Tim took it, his heart swelling. 

“Thank you,” Tim said, “I’m sure this will help with the, uh, nightmares.” Finally, Jack broke. He let out a loud snort which made Tim glare at him. Angel was oblivious to it all and grinned happily. 

“I’m glad,” she said. Tim smiled softly at her, a warmth spreading to his heart. He wrapped her up in his arms and held her close. 

“I love you, Angel,” he said. She put her arms around him and nuzzled close.

“I love you too.”


End file.
